The Early Link Blog

When kids think of summer slide, they may imagine fun times at the water park. But for educators and parents, summer slide – or the learning loss that occurs when kids are on break from school – is a big...

Yoncalla Early Works takes a comprehensive approach to preparing kids for success in school and life. For the last two years, the project has combined early learning, health, and family engagement strategies to set young children on a path to...

On Thursday, May 18, 300 early childhood advocates, educators, business leaders, and friends attended Children’s Institute’s Make It Your Business Luncheon at the Portland Art Museum. More than $153,000 was raised to continue our advocacy for strategic investments in early...

The Early Link Podcast

In this episode, we talk to lead teacher Katy Allaback and assistant teacher Carlos Sanchez about Waverly Elementary School in Albany, where an innovative preschool was built from the ground up.
This is part two in our podcast about Waverly's preschool....

Anne Griffith shares the visionary story of building an innovative, supportive and free preschool from the ground up that serves low-income students in Albany, Oregon.
The program has been a success, incorporating families and the community in helping the most vulnerable...

Professor Sean Reardon, a Stanford researcher, was the keynote speaker for our annual Make It Your Business Luncheon. Reardon received his doctorate from Harvard and has spent his career researching how to ensure every child is able to obtain the...

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Thursday, March 23, 2017 to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to replace it with the American Health Care Act (AHCA). AHCA will lead to 14 million Americans losing their health care next year and another 10 million people will lose their health care coverage by 2026.

Rural communities in Oregon will be hardest hit by the proposed Affordable Care Act repeal. A larger share of residents in rural Oregon rely on subsidized health coverage for medical and dental care. Currently, 67 percent of current federal funding received by Oregon is from Medicaid. This equates to $11.2 billion in our current two-year state budget cycle, a sum larger than the size of Oregon’s agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries combined.

Representative Greg Walden (R) who represents most of rural Oregon is opposed to the Affordable Care Act.

Contact Representative Walden to let him know you want to save the ACA. Here’s how:

Sample Tweets

These sample Tweets can be used to raise awareness about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and what Oregonians will lose if the ACA is repealed.

Please use hashtags #Oregon4ACA and #SaveACA for your Tweets. You can post a Tweet or direct your Tweets to Rep. Greg Walden @repgregwalden, or Speaker Paul Ryan @SpeakerRyan. Some Tweets may need to be shortened to fit the 140-character limit if sent to either representative.

ACA and Children

98 percent of kids and 95 percent of all #Oregonians have health care coverage thanks to the #ACA

406,000 children in #Oregon rely on Medicaid and Healthy Kids (CHIP) for healthcare.

55 percent of children under 18 in Rep. Walden’s district are covered by Medicaid.

Because of #ACA kids with asthma, cancer, or disabilities can’t be excluded from coverage due to pre-existing condition.

Every child has a right to healthcare.

Universal access is not the same as universal coverage. #ACA #SaveACA

Without #ACA, millions of children and their families will lose access to affordable medical and dental care.

Thanks to #ACA, insurance companies can’t impose lifetime benefit limits for children who have special health care needs.

ACA and Oregon

Under the #ACA and #Medicaid expansion, Oregon’s uninsured rate dropped from 17 percent to 5 percent.

More than 155,000 #Oregonians have signed up for health insurance through the Marketplace as of Jan. 31, 2017.

More than 106,000 #Oregonians have qualified for tax credits that make health premiums more affordable.